Moving Day II
The
Rain Whispers Series – 3yrs old
It comes in threes. Good or
bad—always in threes.
Logan ran a hand across his
shadowed chin as he pondered the events of the last few months.
It had started on a normal
morning—well, normal for the X-Men.
After a grueling session in
the Danger Room, the Professor summoned the team to the War Room. Jubilee was
waiting there with him—her face plain, revealing nothing. A trait she had
gotten from him when serious business was at hand. The rest of the family filed
in and took their respective positions.
"Jubilee and I have
been discussing a certain matter for some time now." The Professor began.
"There are just too
many people living in this house." Jubilee said. "That’s what
initiated this."
"Initiated what?"
"I’m coming to
that." She said holding up her hand. "Now, I’ve—we’ve been going over
our files. Nearly a third of all out mainland missions in the past five years
have taken place closer to the West Coast. Civilian casualties were higher
because it took us longer to get there."
"What are ya sayin’,
kid?" Logan asked.
Jubilee looked at him.
"I’m saying, that the Professor and I have decided that the X-Men need a
West Coast team… which I’m going to be leading."
That was one.
Jubilee was leaving. She’d
be out there on her own, away from the flock. As a child, when she was with the
X-Men. He could keep an eye on her. When she joined Generation X, she was under
the care of Sean Cassidy, a friend who he trusted. Then she’d returned home
again, to lead the Read Team.
But she was all grown up
now. Like it or not he had to accept this. She’d be leaving for good, and
taking a team with her.
It was not a mandatory
decision. Those who would go with her did so voluntarily. Everett was never
question. He couldn’t let his heart move west without him. Penance and Angelo
jumped on the wagon. Jono and Peggie, who had been living away from team on
sort of an "on-call" basis, found this Gen X-type reunion appealing.
Three of the newer members of the team also decide to go. Amy Skye a.k.a.
Pulse, was a telepath/telekinetic. Derek Johnson who rivaled Quicksilver in
speed was known as Bolt. And lastly there was Edge, who until a year earlier
was known solely as Melissa Williams. She would be going to UCLA Medical School
in-between battles.
The evening of the
announcement, Logan had gone drinking. Not for any emotional reason, but he
didn’t feel like dealing with anyone else in the house at that time.
When he returned, sometime
after midnight, Jubilee was in his room. She was curled up sleeping in a chair
with only a side lamp on. He approached her.
"Why d’ja leave. I
wanted to talk to you."
With the exception of her
lips, Jubilee hadn’t moved. He had taught her well. Though she was sleeping,
she had been trained to keep the appearance of sleep upon waking. This was a
security measure—make certain you are aware of your surroundings and who is
around you before you let them know you’ve regained consciousness. It kept the
element of surprise in your favor.
Wolverine sat on the bottom
corner of this bed, diagonally across from her. She opened her eyes and
stretched one leg to the floor.
"Well?"
"Sorry."
She nodded.
"So whatcha wanna talk
about?"
"What do you think
about the move?"
"Wish you’da talked ta
me about it first."
"You don’t think I can
handle it." She said, not bothering to hide the disappointment in her
voice.
"‘Course you can! He
said standing. "Yer more than ready. Ya got the smarts, the skills, the
instinct…"
"Then what is
it?"
"…"
"Oh." She stood
up.
"Maybe I’m assumin’
too much but I just thought if ya were gonna make a big decision like
this…"
"I’d tell the person
most important to me first."
Logan scratched this head.
"Look, just… Ferget
about it kid…"
"No, Wolvie, I should
explain." She put a hand on his shoulder. "I wanted to tell you. I
really did. But…{SIGH} Do ya have any idea how much you mean to me? How much
what you think means to me? This move is something I know I have to do. If I
had told you about it, and seen the slightest hint of disapproval in your eyes…
I couldn’t have gone through with it. By telling the whole group—it’s out
there. I can’t back down cause it’s done. Do ya understand?"
Logan took a moment and
nodded.
"Yeah, I
understand."
Jubilee gave him a tight
hug.
"Uh… there is
something else…. A bit of news no one else knows about." She said looking
over his shoulder. She stepped back. "Well, one other person knows—it was
kind of a joint thing. But I wanted to tell you this personally.
"Why do I feel an
"uh-oh" comin’ on."
"Ev and I are getting
married."
That was two.
"Oh-boy."
"At least it wasn’t an
"uh-oh"."
"Married?"
"Yeah."
"I’m gonna hafta have
a talk with that boy."
"Wolvie…"
"When?"
"Before the move. We
want to get married here."
"Oh-boy."
"Are ya mad?"
"No! ‘Course I ain’t
mad. Ev’s a good kid. He’s got a good head on his shoulders. Ain’t all this
happenin’ a little fast though?"
"Nnnot really. He
asked me six months ago and we were just waiting…"
"Six months
ago?!!!"
"Oh-boy."
* * * * *
Number three—the momentous,
earth-shattering event happened the moment Logan opened his eyes that morning.
Logan felt fear.
Not the kind of fear you
feel when you’re in battle or when someone you cared about was in trouble. He’d
had those before—they came with breathing. This was the nervous kind of fear
that tore at you when you knew you had something important to do and were
convinced you were going to mess up.
This was new to him.
His confidence was gone.
All because five words Jubilee said weeks earlier, were about to come to pass:
Will you give me away?"
Now ten minutes before he
supposed to walk precious Jubilee down the isle, the fear had not dissipated—in
fact, it had grown.
Stepping out into his
bedroom, Logan slipped on the jacket to his tux. He hated these things, but
Jubilee wanted a traditional wedding—as normal as could get with this family,
so he was stuck. But true to her word, the suit with its Nauru collar and
absent tie was very stylish and by nom means made him look anything remotely
close to a monkey.
There was a rustling sound
outside of his door and then a knock.
"Wolvie?"
"Ain’t I suppose ta
come ta your room?"
"Since when am I
conventional?" She said through the door.
"Come on in."
Jubilee stuck her head in.
"Ready."
"I was supposed ta ask
ya that too."
"Oh pul-eez." She
said opening the door fully. "You know I’ve always been a dress-‘n-go
kinda girl! …What?"
"Yer beautiful."
"Oh, com’on now
Wolvie. You’re not gonna go all gushy on me now?"
"Hey! Who do ya think
yer talkin’ to?"
"Good. Got enough of
that from Ev’s mom this week." She muttered.
"Careful. That’s yer
new mother-in-law yer talkin’ about."
She grinned.
"Yeah."
"You scared?"
"Nope. Thanks."
"Fer what?"
"Well," she
opened her wrist bag and began pulling out small items. "The Prof. gave me
one of his mom’s bracelets—that’s old. This dress is somthin’ new. This… uh…
lock of Hank’s hair – his idea, not mine – it’s blue…"
"And the somthin’
borrowed?"
Jubilee gave him an
extremely tight hug.
"Your courage. She
said softly, then pulled back.
"I was a nervous wreck
last night—even after all the alcohol they poured inta me. So before I went ta
bed, I made up my mind that I wasn’t gonna be nervous today. It’s my day and
I’m gonna have fun with it, no matter what. Even in the face of all my little
fears about the move and all. So I borrowed a little bit of your courage. I
knew you wouldn’t let these things get to ya."
Wolverine raised an
eyebrow. He held out his elbow for her to take, then lead her out of the room.
"C’mon, kid. Let’s get
you hitched."
Jubilee kissed him on the
cheek.
"Just don’t be a
stranger, okay?"
"Like you could ever
get rid of me. I’m gonna be a gnat in your side forever."
"Shoulda kept my mouth
shut."
"Wolvie… I can do
this… right?"
"I had a hand in
raisin’ ya didn’t I?"
"Yeah."
"Well, I don’t raise
no fool. You can handle this. All of it. I’m proud of you."
She hugged him closer as
they reached the top of the stairs.
"Thanks, Wolvie."
‘Anytime, kid. Anytime.’
The End
NEXT: Now
that all the "info tales" are out of the way (believe me, they were
as boring to write as they were for you to read, but they had important future
information) Back to the REAL Rain Whispers Stories. Up next:
"M.I.A." stormgates@hotmail.com